Theology of UniversalismBy Thomas B. Thayer,
1862

Chapter 1
God - His Attributes, and Their Relation To Human Destiny.

The very idea of existence implies certain powers and qualities. Spiritual
existence involves spiritual and moral qualities or attributes. God is a
Spirit; and his moral attributes, his spiritual perfections, constitute his
character, and determine his action.

If he is infinitely good, if the essence of his being is Love, all his
actions will partake of this quality. If he is supreme in power, he will
act without restraint or hindrance. If he is all-wise, or omniscient, he
cannot err in judgment, or make any mistake in his plans, or fail in his
purposes through want of knowledge or foresight, as to the results of
anything he might do. If he is infinitely just, all his dealings with his
creatures will be marked by perfect equity; and he will require nothing but
what is right and possible, and will lay no evil or penalty on man but what
is consistent with eternal rectitude. If he is above all perturbations,
all weakness and passion, above the disturbing influences of evil and sin;
then he will never act from anger or revenge, never will do anything to, or
with, his creatures, save from the dictates of infinite and unchangeable
benevolence.

These general statements necessarily involve the conclusion of triumphant
universal good, as the result of the creation and government of the world
by God. The very act of creation is virtually a pledge of this; and all
his attributes unite in the accomplishment of this great purpose of
Infinite Beneficence.

A more particular review of the relations of God as Creator, and as a
Father, and of the divine perfections, with specific reference to the act
of giving existence to man, will illustrate and establish this position.

It would be to little purpose to inquire whether God could not have created
this world without evil or imperfection of any sort; Whether he could not
have made man in such a way, physically and morally, as to have secured him
against the possibility of sin. The fact that he has not done this meets
us on the threshold of our inquiry; and it is with this fact that we have
to deal, aided by the light of reason and the authoritive revelations of
the Bible.

For aught we know, God may have created somewhere in infinite space a world
without evil, peopled by a race of beings morally perfect. But even if
this were so, it would remain to be proved that this world and man as we
find him here, imperfect and subject to evil, do not constitute a link in
the endless chain of being, without which it would be incomplete, without
which even heaven itself would lose a measure of its harmony and fulness.
The philosophical poet has spoken well on this interesting point:

"Of systems possible, if 'tis confest
That Wisdom Infinite must form the best,
Where all must full or not coherent be,
And all that rise, must rise in due degree,
Then in the scale of reasoning life, 'tis plain,
There must be somewhere such a rank as man."

And then in answer to the question so often started, "Why could not man
have been created perfect, without liability to sin? Why was he not placed
higher in the scale of being - why not made an angel?" He proceeds as
follows:

" Presumptuous man, wouldst thou the reason find
Why made so weak, so little, and so blind?
First, if thou canst, the harder reason guess,
Why made no weaker, blinder and no less --
Ask of thy mother earth why oaks are made
Taller and stronger than the weeds they shade."

On Superior Powers

"Were we to press, inferior might on ours;
Or in the full creation leave a void,
Where one step broken, the great scale's destroyed.
From nature's chain whatever link you strike,
Tenth, or ten thousandth, breaks the chain alike."

Admitting, therefore, what, perhaps, no one is prepared to deny, that God
CAN create a relatively perfect world, or a world not liable to evil, and
people it with a race of perfect beings not liable to sin. THIS world may,
nevertheless, hold as important and necessary a place in creation as that.
Nay, it may be that without just such a world as this, inhabited by just
such beings as men, the whole machinery of the universe, as at present
arranged, would be imperfect in its structure and working. Manifestly this
earth, with its myriad immortal intelligences, is not formed without a
purpose. Without these, the space which they fill in the circle of organic
and spiritual existence would be blank, and there would be one link
wanting in the golden chain of being which stretches, on either side of
us, to the infinite above, and the infinite below.

The fact that man was made relatively imperfect, that is, imperfect in the
sense of liability to sin, is proved by the fact that he is a sinner. He
was not created a sinner, for sin is the result of a voluntary action. He
was not created depraved, but pure and innocent. He yielded to temptation,
and so fell away form his primal innocence into transgression. The author
of Ecclesiastes states the case very correctly and tersely, when he says,
"Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have
sought out many inventions". (Eccl.. 8:29)

That this constitution of man and its consequences entered into the
original plan of the Creator, and is not an after accident, or an unlooked
for result, is distinctly stated by the apostle Paul in his epistle to the
Romans: "The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by
reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope; because the creature
itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God." (Rom. 8:20-21) See the whole
chapter.

Now here we are certified in the most unqualified terms, that the creature
man, or the human race WAS MADE subject to vanity or imperfection, for
wise and beneficent reasons, and with express reference to the fact that,
when the purposes of this subjection to evil are fully accomplished, then
man is to be delivered from the bondage of corruption and death into the
glorious liberty of the children of God. Whatever may be thought of this
position of Paul, there can be no difference of opinion as to what he
meant, or what he intended to say. It is clear enough that he believed and
taught that we were subjected to this imperfect condition by the Creator
himself. It was designed in the beginning for a special purpose and has
not, since then, come to pass contrary to his expectations. Bishop
Bloomfield renders the passage in this form: "For the world (i.e. God's
creatures) was made subject to imperfection, corruption and misery (not by
any will of its own, but by Him who thus subjected it), yet with a hope (on
their part) that this very creation(i.e. those creatures) will be delivered
from the bondage of corruption, &c. Corruption may perhaps be meant to be
taken both in a moral and physical sense, to denote both liability to sin,
and to disease and death." Of course, then, "vanity" must be taken to mean
the same things, for the words are plainly synonymous, and refer to the
same condition; the creature being delivered from the same thing to which
it was subjected; in the one case called "vanity", and in the other
"corruption."

[Note: The Greek word translated as VANITY occurs in only two other
passages of the New Testament, Eph. 4:17, "in the vanity of their mind";
where the moral element is manifestly involved, as verses 19 and 22 plainly
show -- "lasciviousness and all uncleanness with greediness"; and 2 Peter
2:18, where the same statement applies, as the next words show -- "lusts of
the flesh and wantonness". The Greek word translated CORRUPTION is found
not only in 1 Cor 15, but also in such passages as these: "having escaped
the corruption that is in the world", "servants of corruption", 2 peter 1 &
2, illustrating its use in a moral as well as in a physical sense. Witby
and others argue elaborately for the corruption of death as the only
meaning of "vanity".]

It is plain, then, that God, as the Creator of mankind, when he determined
upon the nature of their physical and moral condition on earth, determined
that it should be such as involved the liability to the physical and moral
evil and, consequently, as the apostle says, he "MADE man subject to
vanity", or imperfection. He "SUBJECTED" him to this condition, with a
clear foresight and intention respecting all the trials and sorrows, the
spiritual conflicts and temptations, the failures and conquests, as will as
the decay and destruction by death of the mortal body, which this
constitution of things would naturally bring in its train.

But, of course, all this was with a view to the greater good that is to come
of it. This condition was not ordained for its own sake, as a permanent
thing, but as a means to a beneficent and glorious end, as a school
wherein we are to be taught and trained for a higher sphere of life and
action, both in the present and in the future. Dr. Johathan Edwards, who
was regarded as the highest authority in theological metaphysics, says,
with great good sense, in his famous work on the Will: -- "I believe there
is no person of good understanding, who will venture to say he is certain
that it is impossible it should be best, taking in the whole compass and
extent of existence, and all consequences in the endless series of events,
that there should be such a thing as moral evil in the world. And if so,
it will certainly follow that an infinitely wise Being, who always chooses
what is best, must choose that there be such a thing". Again, he says: --
"It is not of a bad tendency for the Supreme Being thus to order and permit
that moral evil to be which it is best should come to pass for that it is
of good tendency is the very thing supposed in the point in question, . . .
. and good is the actual issue in the final result of things".

Turnbull, in his "Principles of Moral Philosophy", which Edwards quotes
approvingly, states that "God intends and pursues THE UNIVERSAL GOOD OF HIS
CREATION; and the evil which happens is not permitted for its own sake, but
because it is requisite to the greater good pursued".

[Note: And with these agree the following unitarian testimonies: --
"The origin of our liability to sin, we can explain only by referring it to
the will of our Maker". Again: -- "We hold that God is master of evil,
not merely physical but moral -- master of his creation, and able to
overrule all evil for moral good, so that at last, when his work is
consummated, the good shall be triumphant and complete".

I think it would be difficult to show that the above premises of Edwards
and Turnbull do not involve the conclusion which it is the purpose of this
volume to establish. If "good is the actual issue in the final result of
things", of moral evil or sin, in one case, why not in all cases? The
principle is the same; and it surely is as easy for God to realize a great
result as a little one. And if, in the permission of evil, "God intends
and pursues the universal good of his creation", there seems an end of the
argument; for if he intends and pursues it, he will certainly accomplish
it, and the good of the whole can only be accomplished in the good of each
particular part. Bishop Warburton, who could not believe in endless
punishment, says, very truly: -- "Though the system of the best supposes
that the evils themselves will be fully compensated by the good they
produce to the whole, yet this is so far from supposing that the
particulars shall suffer for a general good, that it is essential to this
system, to conclude that at the completion of things, when the whole is
arrived to the state of utmost perfection, particular and universal good
shall coincide". And commenting on Rev 20:14, "death and hell cast into
the lake of fire", he says: -- "The sense of the whole seems to be this,
that at the consummation of things (the subject here treated of), all
physical and moral evil shall be abolished.

And if we give a little attention to the details of the question, it will
not be very difficult to discover how the conflict with the imperfections
and evils of our lot serves to develop the faculties of body and mind, to
strengthen and build up the character; how, in fact, all evil finally
takes on some shape of good, and thus vindicates the divine wisdom in
subjecting man to "vanity". To begin with the lowest form of the subject:
--

I. PHYSICAL EVILS. -- We may safely say that our usefulness and happiness
are largely dependant on the development of all our powers and gifts,
physical, mental, and spiritual. For accomplishing this, there must, of
course, be occasion for that action of which this development is the
legitimate result. But, if there were no evil connected with our present
condition and estate, how could this be? Where the occasion for activity
or exertion, if man were free from evil, and already as perfect as he is
capable of being? And if you leave him one step this side of perfection,
you involve him in the necessary evil of imperfection. But if perfect in
all respects, what moving cause would there be for action? He has no wants
to gratify; no enjoyment to obtain; no inconvenience to be rid of; no work
to perform; no end to seek or gain; no occasion, whatever, for the
slightest exertion of body or mind. The propelling power would be gone to
a great degree, and life would become as a still and stagnant pool, covered
over with its green and slimy coating, unbroken by the winds of heaven, or
the dip of a passing wing.

Take one example only. If there were no hunger, if man had been so
constituted as never to want food, then there would have been no room for
the activity, both of mind and body, which is now devoted to procuring
this. The noble science of agriculture, which is so rapidly unfolding the
powers of the earth and the elements, and bringing us so constantly into the
presence of infinite wisdom and benevolence, would have no being. The
constant hum of business and enterprise heard all over the earth, and the
wonderful and complicated movements connected with the supply of this
universal want, would cease at once. The far stretching fields of grain,
rich and ripe, waving in the wind, and adding such beauty to the landscape,
and giving such joy to the heart of the beholder -- the mill, with the
noise of its grinding, and the wild merriment of its whirling wheels and
rushing waters -- the pleasant garden spot, with its various vegetable
productions, and the satisfaction of cultivating and watching over it --
the groves of delicious fruit, planted by the had of man in every clime --
the proud ship, that bears its freight of blessings from shore to shore --
the canal, the railroad, the steamship, the magnetic telegraph, -- all
these would be struck out of existence; and the thousands who are engaged
in these manifold employments, and find a life and joy in the activity they
afford, would fall back into a dead silence and listlessness, and all would
become a complete and thorough blank in the place of that quick life and
cheerful industry, which are born of this want or evil, and those kindred
to it.

II. INTELLECTUAL EVILS, OR THE EVILS OF IGNORANCE. -- That ignorance
of
the government and works of God, Ignorance of the truths of science, of the
laws of organized life, and of the physical universe, Is the source of much
evil, of accident and suffering, no one can, or is disposed to, deny. But
suppose there were no ignorance in regard to these things. Suppose God
had, when he created man, thoroughly instructed him in all the sciences and
imparted to him, by direct miracle or revelation, a complete knowledge of
all the laws of the physical world. It is true, you might in this way, get
quit of all the suffering, of all the evil consequent upon ignorance, but
would you not also annihilate all the mental action and effort consequent
upon it?

If the Creator had given to man in the beginning, by inspiration or
revelation, a knowledge of all the sublime and beautiful truths of
astronomy, chemistry, geology, physiology, political science, natural
philosophy, and all other departments of human knowledge -- then all the
labor of mind, the splendid intellectual triumphs by which these truths
have been unfolded, and which have thrilled all souls that have witnessed
their success, with admiration and joy -- all this activity and consequent
happiness had never been. And we had not know, as now, how glorious a
creature the human mind is; how manifold its powers and resources; how
heroically it will struggle against difficulties, till it rise up into the
heavens, victorious over all, and reverently, yet without trembling, stand
at last in the presence of the Eternal One!

But not only this. With the loss of these efforts and triumphs, must be
numbered also the countless books written on these subjects; the glorious
printing press, giving wings to knowledge and truth; the beautiful and
exquisite instruments with which science has wrought out her discoveries;
and all the study and industry consequent upon them -- all these must
perish with the evils of ignorance; or rather, but for the evils of
ignorance they could have had no existence. All the truths of science and
art know to us, there would be no use for them -- no call for mental effort
to invent, or mechanical labor to execute.

If, then, there is any happiness in the discovery of truth, and the
increase of knowledge, if any measure of our blessedness lies in the
development and perfection of the intellect, all which necessarily involve
the existence of previous ignorance and imperfection -- then, just to this
extent, we are furnished with a solution of the great problem of evil; or,
at least, we see some of the important uses which evil may subserve. And
now let us turn to --

III. MORAL EVIL. If there had been no error or sin in the world, we
should have known nothing of Jesus the Christ, that loftiest exhibition of
perfected humanity, that single bright star in the mingled firmament of
earth and heaven, whose light was never dimmed. We should have known
nothing of his deeds of love and mercy in return for hate and cruelty;
nothing of that life of his, always so serene and beautiful amid the storms
of temptation and bigotry and persecution, and closed at last with that
sublime prayer of forgiveness and blessing, the very record of which even
now thrills the souls of the millions with unutterable emotions of
reverence and joy. And so one of the most instructive pages in the history
of humanity would have been left totally blank, with not a single bright
word of heaven's language to catch the eye, or quicken the thought. And of
God, also -- if there were no sin, we should lose sight of half the glory
of his character, and of the beautiful and tender relations which he
sustains to us. We should know him as a God of almighty power, of infinite
wisdom, of perfect holiness, but of his saving grace, of his mercy, of his
patient and watchful care for his wayward children, of his long-suffering
and pardoning love, of his blessed promises of redemption -- if there were
no moral evil, no error nor sin, what should we know of these glorious
exhibitions of the divine character? How could they have been at all? How
could we have loved and adored, in spirit and understanding, the
affectionate Father and the perfect God, as we love and adore him now?

[Note: Johathan Edwards says "God does not will sin as sin, or for the
sake of any thing evil; though it be his pleasure so to order things, that,
he permitting, sin will come to pass, for the sake of the great good that
by his disposal shall be the consequence". Works, vol.ii., 254. Edition
1829]

But there is another phase to this question of moral evil, which deserves a
thought. It will be allowed very readily, that the virtues of charity,
forgiveness, generosity, self-sacrifice, faith, fidelity, are of great
worth, and give the highest grace and beauty to the character. All will
agree that without these noble virtues, it would become tame and
spiritless, with scarcely a single trait to waken our admiration, or call
forth our reverence and love. The lively and animated picture of the
soul's struggles and triumphs, would lose its richest coloring and finish,
and life itself would be without point, without any useful or elevating
aim.

But if man had been created perfect, and never had fallen into any kind of
sin, how could these virtues have birth or being? If there were nothing to
try our patience or our love, how could the worth and truth of them be
proved? If none offended against us, how could we forgive? If none did us
evil, how could we obey the greatest of the divine requisitions, "Return
good for evil"? If there were no want nor sorrow, if there were no
injustice nor wrong, where would be the noble examples of charity and
mercy, of generosity and self-forgetfulness, which have adorned the history
of the world, and moved multitudes of souls with admiring joy, and sent
them forth with inspiration for the same blessed work? If there were no
sorrow nor pain, where had been those heavenly lessons of patient love, of
affectionate devotion, under sternest trials? Where had been that sweet
submission to God, that serene peace, that divine strength, which the
frailest child of suffering has at times manifested, leaving a witness,
before which the strongest and most unwilling have bowed, and, through the
power of which, the humblest and weakest have felt themselves lifted up to
new courage and faith.

If then, these virtues are of any worth, if charity, forgiveness,
resignation, faith, self-sacrifice, have any value in themselves, or as
examples to the world, if they adorn the human character, and are necessary
to the perfect development of the human heart, then here again is a reason
why the Creator did not make man perfect in the beginning, but determined
rather to leave him to perfect himself through toil and struggle, through
defeat and victory, through obedience, and self-conquest, and faith, and
love, aided and blessed by the Holy Spirit -- another reason why he
subjected him to temporal evil, that he might, through this, work out for
himself an abiding, everlasting good. And Paul alludes to this view of the
subject, in immediate connection with the passage already quoted, saying,
with exultant emphasis: -- "I reckon that the sufferings of this present
time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed
in us". (Rom. 8:18) And he repeats the thought in his second letter to the
Corinthians, in yet more definite and nervous phrase: -- "For which cause
we faint not; but though our outward men perish, the inward man is renewed
day by day; for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory". (2 Cor. 4:16-17)

And doubtless one purpose of our present condition of mingled evil and
good, is to lead us up to the thought of and desire for this "eternal
weight of glory, which shall be revealed in us". If there were no evil
here, no vanity or imperfection, no drawback of any sort connected with the
things of this life, we should cling to them always, and never look higher,
nor desire anything better. Earth would become our heaven, the world our
god, and our life the life merely of the animal.

But now the temptations, and sins, and failures, and sorrows, the
unsatisfying character of our pursuits and pleasures, the perishable nature
of earthly possessions -- in a word, "the vanity and vexation of spirit"
which wait on all worldly things reveal to us that this is not our home,
that these are not all God has in store for us. They lead us when sick at
heart and dissatisfied, even though our highest ambitions are gratified,
when weary with our struggles against evil, and disheartened with the ills
of life -- these very ills and disappointments call up within us
irrepressible longings and yearnings for, and point us forward to,
something nobler and better than anything this world can give, something that
will not betray our trust, nor defeat our hopes, something imperishable and
eternal.

[Note: "And their longing for a future perfection is shared by all
created beings, whose discontent at present imperfection points to another
state freed from evil". -- Conybeare & Howson's Life and Epistles of St.
Paul, vol. ii. 175. Marginal notes to Rom. viii. 17.]

"For, from the birth
Of mortal man, the sovereign Maker said,
That not in humble, nor in brief delight;
Not in the fading glories of renown,
Power's purple robes, nor pleasure's flowery lap,
The soul should find enjoyment, but from these
Turning disdainful to an eternal good,
Through all the ascent of things enlarge her view,
Till every bound at length should disappear,
And infinite perfection close the scene!"

[Akenside's "Pleasures of Imagination."]

But then of course this disciplinary result of evil depends entirely upon
the fact that all SHALL end well, "and infinite perfection close the
scene". It all turns on the truth that evil IS temporal, as Paul says, and
that these light afflictions ARE comparatively but for a moment.
Deliberately to plan, purpose, ordain and perpetuate this "vanity", or
evil of any kind, as an end, for its own sake, is too monstrous to admit
of defense. The only possible method of vindicating the existing order of
things, is on the Bible ground, viz: that it is a means and not an end;
that it is a course of training, education and growth, preparatory to
something higher; that the battle is to terminate in victory, and present
imperfection, sin and suffering, to give place to future perfection,
holiness, and joy.

[Note: William law, who was a Universalist, and the author of the
"Serious Call" and "Christian Perfection", works greatly prized by the
orthodox sects, says on this point: "As for the purification of all human
nature, I fully believe it, either in this world, or some after ages. And
as to that of angels, if it is possible, I am glad of it, and also sure
enough that it will then come to pass". Letters, Letter xii, London
edition, 1762. Southey, in his life of Wesley, states Law's theological
views in detail, including his belief that "all beings will finally be
happy". Vol. i. p. 216, Harper's edit.]

And the argument applies equally to all; for if all were "MADE" subject to
"vanity", then all have an equal claim to deliverance from bondage. And
this is the position of the inspired Apostle; for he distinctly asserts
that the same "creature" subjected, viz. the human creature, the entire
race of mankind, shall be delivered. [see note below] And the accomplishment
of this grand result is the purpose, and prophesied completion, of the
Savior's mission, as revealed in the apocalyptic vision touching the New
Jerusalem: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell
with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with
them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away". (Rev. 21)

[Note: Whitby says, "the creature" means "the whole race of men", "all
the world". Macknight says, "every human creature", "all mankind", &c.
Bloomfield, "the human race". Laspis, "the universal world". The
universality of meaning in both members of the proposition, is admitted on
all hands.]

Thus do we see that the "vanity" and "bondage" of the present state, are
prophetic of "the glorious liberty" of the future. The temporal evil is
but the herald of everlasting good; and the very imperfection, physical and
moral, of the earthly constitution of things, is suggestive of change; the
pledge, in fact, of that final beatified condition which is "without
variableness" or shadow of change. This infant school of our being, where
with much effort, with many failures and repetitions, we slowly learn the
A,B,C, of live's lessons, points with unerring finger to the University of
Heaven, where, our spiritual education completed, we enter upon the glories
and the delights of the life immortal.

To this result the character of God as a wise and beneficent Creator, and
all the divine attributes of Power, Wisdom, Goodness and Justice, stand
committed. It is the only solution of the vexed problem of evil. It is
the only satisfactory exposition of the purpose of God's creation. And,
finally, it is the only doctrine which equally vindicates his perfection,
honors his government, and challenges the admiration, the worship, the
confidence and affection of all his intelligent creatures.

That this statement rests on a sure foundation, with abundant evidence in
its support, will be verified by the arguments of the following sections,
shewing that the attributes of Deity, in their active relation to the work
of creation, do by their very nature involve and pledge this ultimate
result.